Released in 1988, Money For Nothing is a compilation of the best songs from the first 5 Dire Straits studio albums. After a first remastering in 1996, it returns today with a new remastering in streaming and vinyl.

The review includes 5 editions: Vinyl 2022, CD 1988, CD remastered 1996, Streaming Qobuz remastered 2022, Tidal Dolby Atmos (Binaural and Multichannel).

You can find the test of the studio album Brothers In Arms Here.

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.
The synthesis of the review and the samples are available here.

This album includes 12 tracks reviewed:

1. Sultans Of Swing
2. Down To The Waterline
3. Portobello Belle – Live
4. Twisting By The Pool (Remix)
5. Tunnel Of Love
6. Romeo And Juliet
7. Where Do You Think You’re Going
8. Walk Of Life
9. Private Investigations
10. Telegraph Road – Live (Remix)
11. Money For Nothing
12. Brothers In Arms

First we will analyze each edition in detail (technical and qualitative analysis), then we will compare the successive editions with their dynamics and assign a final score, and you will be able to listen some samples.

The streaming versions may evolve over time, those presented here correspond to the version tested at the date of publication, or update of the review.

Review of the editions:

Part 1: Presentation of the editions

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamique comparaison

Parts 3 : Spectrum comparisons

Part 4 : Spectrogram comparaisons

Part 5 : Spatialization

Part 6 : Summary, scoring and Sample

Part 1: presentation of the editions

Ed1: Vinyl remastered ref : 602438631940 – 2022

Presentation

This is the remastered vinyl (2022) of this album with 2 LP in 180g.

Label	‎Vertigo
Reference	602438631940
Format (speed)	Vinyl
Type	Double LP 180g
Master	Digital
Mastering/Pressing	Remastered by Bob Ludwig Cutting by Bernie Grundman
Original recording	Analog
State	France
Year original	1988
Year production	2022

Ed2: CD ref : 836 419-2- 1988

Presentation

This is the original CD in 16 bits 44.1 kHz.

Label	‎Vertigo
Reference	836 419-2
Format (speed)	CD
Type	CD 16 bits 44.1 kHz
Master	Digital, CD with AAD information
Mastering/Pressing	CD with AAD logo (Analog recorded, Analog mixed, Digital mastered)
Original recording	Analog
State	France
Year original	1988
Year production	1988

Ed3: CD remastered ref : 836 419-2 – 1996

Presentation

This is remastered CD in 16 bits 44.1 kHz.

Label	‎Vertigo
Reference	836 419-2
Format (speed)	CD
Type	CD 16 bits 44.1 kHz
Master	Digital remastered in SBM (Supêr Bit Mapping), CD with AAD information
Mastering/Pressing	Analog recorded, Analog mixed, Digital mastered Remastered by Bob Ludwig
Original recording	Analog
State	France
Year original	1988
Year production	1996

Ed4: Qobuz Hi-Res remastered 2022 – 2022

Presentation

This is remastered streaming Qobuz in 24 bits 192 kHz.

Label	‎Vertigo
Reference	Qobuz Hi-Res remastered 2022
Format (speed)	Streaming
Type	24 bits 192 kHz
Master	Digital remastered in 2022
Mastering/Pressing	Remastered by Bob Ludwig
Original recording	Analog
State	EU
Year original	1988
Year production	2022

Ed5: Tidal Dolby Atmos remastered 2022 – 2022

Presentation

This is 2022 remastered streaming Tidal presented in Dolby Atmos.

Label	‎Vertigo
Reference	Tidal Dolby Atmos
Format (speed)	Streaming Dolby Digital Plus (Atmos) or Dolby AC-4
Type	Dolby Atmos multichannel and Binaural
Master	Remastered in Dolby Atmos in 2022
Mastering/Pressing	Remastered by Bob Ludwig
Original recording	Analog
State	EU
Year original	1988
Year production	2022

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamic comparaisons

Waveform

The waveform represents all the tracks of the album for each version.

The graphs below represent the waveforms of the vinyl versions (Ed1) and CD 1988 (Ed2).
This version is dynamic without compression effect. The CD is a little more dynamic, with more pronounced peaks.

The CD remastered in 1996 (Ed3) is compressed in dynamics to have a higher sound level. The yellow zone shows that the sound volume is maximized in level.

Compared to the 1996 CD (Ed3), the Qobuz remastered version in 2022 (Ed4) is even more compressed, we find less variations of levels, with more areas set at the maximum level (yellow zone).

The graph below compares the song Money For Nothing for the 3 digital versions with the DR decreasing from the CD of 1988 to the Qobuz version of 2022. These 3 versions are adjusted to the same sound level at -17.7 Lufs. You can observe that the lower the DR, the lower the signal height, with less and less finesse.

Update with the Dolby Atmos version :
The Dolby Atmos version, which is presented below decoded in 5.1 and in Binaural (without the Atmos channels) and in Binaural remains very dynamic as confirmed by its DR14.

Dynamic

Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).

For our 5 editions we have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	Ed1: Vinyl	Ed2: CD 1988	Ed3: CD 1996	Ed4: Qobuz 2022	Ed5 : Tidal Atmos
GLOBAL	DR13	DR15	DR12	DR8	DR14
Min	DR11	DR12	DR9	DR7	DR11
Max	DR17	DR17	DR14	DR10	DR17
Sultans Of Swing	DR14	DR15	DR12	DR7	DR15
Down To The Waterline	DR14	DR15	DR12	DR8	DR12
Portobello Belle – Live	DR11	DR15	DR11	DR8	DR14
Twisting By The Pool (Remix)	DR11	DR13	DR11	DR8	DR13
Tunnel Of Love	DR13	DR14	DR9	DR8	DR14
Romeo And Juliet	DR14	DR14	DR11	DR8	DR15
Where Do You Think You’re Going	DR11	DR15	DR14	DR8	DR11
Walk Of Life	DR12	DR12	DR10	DR7	DR13
Private Investigations	DR17	DR17	DR14	DR10	DR15
Telegraph Road – Live (Remix)	DR13	DR15	DR12	DR8	DR14
Money For Nothing	DR12	DR16	DR10	DR7	DR17
Brothers In Arms	DR11	DR14	DR13	DR7	DR14

The digital versions are more and more compressed with the remasterings, we go from a DR15 in 1988 to a DR8 in 2022. The loudness war is not finished yet, we would have hoped that a band like Dire Straits would not be impacted! The vinyl is from the remastered version in 2022, but remains less dynamic than the 1988 CD. The Dolby Atmos version remains dynamic (DR14) like the original stereo versions.

As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.

Part 3 : spectrum comparisons

Spectrum

The Spectrum allows to check the tonal balance of the music (balance between treble, medium and bass sounds) and to detect process that may have been carried out during the recording, the mixing, mastering or manufacturing phases. It is also possible to detect frequency interference issues.

The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the sample “Tunnel Of Love”.

The interesting features on this curve Ed1 Vinyl 1986 (white) vs Ed4 Qobuz (blue) are the following:

• Superposition of the 2 curves up to 8 kHz
• Above 8 kHz, the red zone shows a high-frequency equalization with a peak of nearly 10 dB at 15 kHz, and a drop of 20 dB at 17 kHz, followed by a rise at 20 kHz. One wonders why such a treatment above 8 kHz when we should have a frequency response curve close to the mastered version in 2022. The quality of the engraving is not at the level expected on this type of disc.

The curves between the 1988 CD version (Ed1) and the 1996 remastered version (Ed2) are similar with some small differences (green and yellow arrows).

The curves between the CD version of 1988 (Ed1) and the remastered version of 2022 (Ed4) are similar with some small differences in the bass (green area) and in the treble (yellow arrow). The Qobuz remastered version 2022 (Ed4) has a frequency response curve that progressively attenuates above 20 kHz (purple arrow )due to the 192 kHz sampling frequency.

The Tidal Dolby Atmos Binaural (Ed5) version is very different from the Qobuz stereo version as shown by the yellow and green areas. The Dolby Atmos is encoded in Dolby Digital Plus with a bit rate of 768 kbits/s or in Dolby AC4 with a bit rate of 256 kbits/s for the binaural. To maintain these rates, the bandwidth is limited to 20 kHz (yellow arrow).

The Tidal Dolby Atmos Binaural (Ed5) version is also available for home theater amplifiers, in this case we can decode in Atmos 7.1.4 for example), or without Atmos, in this case we are in 5.1 in order to ensure compatibility with non-Atmos amplifiers. The spectrum below represents this 5.1 version. There is a high level of all channels. As for the Binaural, we find the limitation at 20 kHz (yellow arrow) due to the encoding in Dolby Digital Plus. The green arrow shows the filtering of the LFE bass channel around 120 Hz.

Part 4 : Spectrogram comparaisons

Spectrogram

Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.

The vinyl spectrogram (Ed1) continues above the visible limit at 17 kHz (due to engraving) (yellow arrow). The white arrow shows music and the distortion due to the playback of the vinyl above 17 kHz.

The spectrograms of CD 1988 (Ed2) and CD 1996 (Ed3) versions are similar, with a limit at 22kHz (yellow arrow) due to the 44.1kHz sampling frequency and the absence of signal above 22 kHz (white arrow).

The spectrogram of Qobuz remastered 2022 (Ed4) version goes above 22 kHz (yellow arrow) due to the 192kHz sampling frequency. The white arrow shows frequencies up to 96 kHz. Note that the maximum frequency of the garphic below is 96 kHz, unlike the other graphics which were limited to 44.2 kHz.

The spectrograms of the Tidal Atmos Binaural and multichannel versions (decoded in 5.1) below are identical with a frequency limitation at 20 kHz (yellow arrow) due to the Dolby Encoding. There is no signal above this frequency (white arrow). The red area shows the suppression of high frequencies to optimize the data compression in order to reduce the throughput. The bass channel is filtered at 120 Hz (green arrow).

Part 5 : Spatialization

Spatialization allows you to define the sound distribution of the music on all the channels. The spatialization indicator and the description of the graph are described here.

We find an Atmos mix which will privilege a widening of the front sound scene until the side surround speakers and front top speakers. This brings a more important opening than the stereo version and widens the sound scene. It is a tendency to the Atmos mixing that we find more and more often (it is also the case for the album Midnights of Taylor Swift). This suits Dire Straits’ music very well, while maintaining a certain presence on the rear channels using more or less reverb.

Below the spatialization for the 12 tracks of Tidal Dolby Atmos version. Click on the images to zoom in.

Part 6 : Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed1: Vinyl clear and black ref : PCRPOPLP212X – 2022

The sound is dynamic but below the CD version. The large variations above 10 kHz with the drop at 17 kHz have an impact on the naturalness of the guitar sound. Otherwise, the listening brings a warmer sound than the CD. However, the quality of pressing is not perfect and leaves some clicks and cleaning is mandatory to reduce them.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●oo (3)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (3.5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (3.5)

• Sample : “Tunnel Of Love” 24 bits 88.2 kHz:

Ed2: CD ref : 836 419-2- 1988

The 1988 CD is the most dynamic and accurate of the versions tested. We find all the finesse of the music. The Qobuz version with its 192 kHz sampling frequency should have done better, but the strong compression broke the interest of presenting a 192 kHz version.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

• Sample : “Tunnel Of Love” 16 bits 44.1 kHz:

Ed3: CD remastered ref : 836 419-2 – 1996

The CD remastered in 1996 is compressed, too bad for the SBM technology which should have brought more finesse and precision.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

• Sample : “Tunnel Of Love” 16 bits 44.1 kHz:

Ed4: Qobuz Hi-Res remastered 2022 – 2022

The availability of this album in Qobuz Hi-Res version in 24 bits 192 kHz would have let think of a reference version with a great finesse in the rendering of the guitar, but, unfortunately, the compression with a DR8 breaks all the dynamics of the instruments and the voice. It is really a pity!

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (2.5)

• Sample : “Tunnel Of Love” 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed5: Tidal Dolby Atmos remastered 2022 – 2022

The Atmos mix brings more opening and separation in the instruments, it is very visible in 7.1.4 listening where we have a sound image which is really at 180 degrees in width, but also in height. This sound space is created by a redistribution of sounds and a little reverberation according to the tracks. This Atmos version is successful and deserves to be listened to to discover Dire Straits in another way. The binaural version also provides more space when listening through headphones.

Concerning the finesse of the sound reproduction, the Dolby Atmos version available is in Dolby Digital Plus 768 kBits/s, it is a lossless encoding, a Dolby Digital TrueHD version (lossless encoding) on Bluray would make it possible to find completely the finesse of the stereo versions.

Rating (multichannel):

• Dynamic: ●●●●● (5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●●ooo (7.4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

• Sample : “Tunnel Of Love” Atmos Binaural:

• Sample : “Tunnel Of Love” Dolby Digital Plus (Atmos) only in 5.1:

The sample is in 5.1 wav format, if you can not play the sample in your navigator, you can save it, right button menu and “Save Audio As…” and play it with an external player.

Among the first 4 versions tested, the CD version de 1988 is the one which is the closest to the dynamic and precise rendering of Dire Straits’ music. The remastered vinyl version brings a warmer sound, but a little less precise and with a pressing that remains just correct. Update of the review with the Dolby Atmos version: after years of listening to Dire Straits in stereo, the switch to Atmos was a bit confusing at first, but you get used to the fact that the Atmos mix brings more openness and separation in the instruments, it’s very noticeable in 7.1.4 listening where you have a sound image that is really at 180 degrees After listening to the album, when we go back to stereo, we lose this sound space, there is then like a lack. This Atmos version is successful and deserves to be listened to discover Dire Straits in another way. The Dolby Atmos version would match the finesse of the stereo version with a Dolby TrueHD (lossless) encoding on a blu-ray instead of the Dolby Digital Plus used in streaming.

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Detail of the ratings :

• Dynamic :
  1. Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
  2. Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
  3. Correct piece DR >=10
  4. No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
  5. No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
• Spectrum :
  1. Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
  2. Spectrum cut at 15 khz
  3. Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
  4. Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
  5. Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
• Surface noise (only for vinyl):
  1. Continuous audible noise
  2. Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
  3. Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
  4. Low surface noise, very good quality
  5. Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
• Spatialization :
  • Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
  • Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
  • For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
• Restitution :
  1. Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  2. Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  3. Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
  4. High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
  5. Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.

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